The third round of the annual China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) will be held in Beijing on May 3 and 4 after a successful and exciting first two years.
 
Since 2010 when the first round of CPE was held, China and the US have set up a series of programs aiming to boost mutual understanding between youths in the two countries.
 
China declared the "three 10,000 program" last year which includes 10,000 Chinese students who are sponsored by the government to study in the US for a doctorate, and 10,000 US students who can come to China to study on Chinese government scholarships.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially launched the "100,000 Strong" initiative in Beijing in 2010 to increase the number of participants and diversify the composition of US students studying in China.

"Until now, we have provided scholarship to 2,094 US students," says Zhang Xiuqin, director of the department of International Cooperation and Exchanges at the Ministry of Education in China, who works at the conference. "A total of 23,292 Americans studied in China last year, an increase of about 18 percent over 2010."

"By the end of 2011, China has sent 2,300 students to get a doctor's degree in the US and there are up to 4,363 Chinese PhD candidates in the US now," she adds.

China will further improve the scholarship awarded to foreign students who come to China in the coming school year.

"The average scholarship will reach 60,000 yuan ($9,516) per person, an increase of 10,000 yuan from the current amount," says Zhang.

China will also improve housing and other necessities for US exchange students, with an expected budget of over 1.5 billion yuan put toward it this year, Zhang adds.

It is reported that about 290,000 foreign students from more than 190 countries and regions are studying in the Chinese mainland, 10 percent of whom are enjoying scholarships sponsored by Chinese government.
 
To implement the government policy of strengthening the training of primary and high school teachers, 500 schoolmasters and teachers were sent to the US last year.
 
The China-US Student Exchange Forum will be held during the CPE, with student representatives from the "three 10,000 program" and the "100,000 Strong" initiative present to share their stories about studying overseas.
 
Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong and Clinton will co-host the CPE meeting held on May 4.